Alley of Classics, Chișinău


The Alley of Classics is a sculptural complex located in the Stephen the Great Park in Central Chișinău, Moldova.

Overview

The alley is decorated on both sides with red granite busts of classic literary figures and political leaders from Moldova. The alley is located between the Ștefan cel Mare boulevard and the bronze bust of Alexander Pushkin, set on a granite column and made by Russian sculptor Alexander Opekushin. The alley was built and received its name in 1958, and became one of the most important tourist attractions in Chișinău. At first there were only twelve sculptures, but after the fall of the Soviet Union the local authorities added busts of Romanian and Moldovan writers and poets that were banned during the Soviet regime.
The idea of a sculptural complex was launched by the interwar sculptor Alexandru Plămădeală, who dreamed to create an open-air museum. Just during the Khrushchev Thaw, the Alley of Classics was unveiled on April 29, 1958, in the Stephen the Great Park. The sculptural complex from Cișmigiu Gardens in Bucharest served as a model.

Busts

The Alley of Classics contains 28 busts in alphabetical order.
NrBustUnveiledSculptorImage
1Vasile Alecsandri1957Lazăr Dubinovschi
2Tudor Arghezi1995Dimitrie Verdeanu
3Gheorghe Asachi1957Lazăr Dubinovschi
4George Bacovia2001Milița Petrașcu
5Lucian Blaga1992Alexandra Picunov
6Dimitrie Cantemir1957Nikolay Gorenashev
7George Călinescu1997Serghei Ganenko
8George Coșbuc1996Constantin Popovici
9Ion Creangă1957Lev Averbuh
10Alecu Donici1957Ioan Cheptănaru
11Mircea Eliade1997Vasile Golea
12Mihai Eminescu1957Lazăr Dubinovschi
13Octavian Goga2000Cornel Medrea
14Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu1957Ioan Cheptănaru
15Alexandru Hâjdeu1957Vladislav Krakoveak
16Nicolae Iorga1990?Mihail Ekobici
17Mihail Kogălniceanu1990??
18Alexei Mateevici1990Dmitri Rusu-Skvortsov
19Nicolae Milescu1957Lev Averbuh
20Constantin Negruzzi1957Lazăr Dubinovschi &
Aleksandr Maiko
21Liviu Rebreanu27 November 2009Milița Petrașcu
22Alecu Russo1957Vasili Larcenko
23Mihail Sadoveanu1990?Group of artists
24Constantin Stamati1957Leonid Fitov
25Nichita Stănescu1990?Group of artists
26Constantin Stere1991Giorgi Dubrovin
27Grigore Vieru12 February 2010Victor Macovei &
Ruslan Tihonciuc